Wyoming Campers, Here’s How To Maintain Your Sleeping Bags

One of my favorite parts of camping is the smells. Mountain air, trees, dirt, and campfire smoke (when allowed). I also love the smell you get when you pull out your camping gear for the next trip. Call me weird, but even after a while, that smoky smell still appeals to me.

That's where the appeal of smelly camping gear stops for me, especially with your sleeping bag. If it gets wet from the weather, you're a sweaty sleeper,  something spills on it, and it smells nasty, it's time to clean it.

Keeping your bag in tip-top shape matters for comfort, and in some extreme cases, it could be the difference between life and death. Especially in the Wyoming weather. It can be warm during the day, but temps can drop drastically, and snow can fall at any moment in the high country.

I know you're thinking you're about to get a groundbreaking life hack for cleaning your sleeping bag, but you're not. Unless the label says not to machine wash, or it's an old vintage bag, throw that sucker into a front-loading (or top-loading without an agitator) washing machine. You also need a dryer big enough to handle the bulk of a sleeping bag. Going to a laundromat may be the easiest solution

Ok, that's not where the work ends.

When you're cleaning your sleeping bag, you should look at it like how you're supposed to wash your clothes: put them into separate piles- lights, darks, delicates, and so on- not toss them all in at once and hope for the best. Not every detergent is proper for every sleeping bag. Find the right one for your bag.

For down bags, use a detergent specifically formulated for down or a synthetic, like the ones you can find here on AMAZON. Standard laundry detergent can cause clumping or reduce loft. Also, never use fabric softener, bleach, or bleach products.

After the wash, it's time to dry.

Set the dryer on low heat. High heat can melt delicate nylon fabrics. It's better to dry on low heat longer than to blast it with high heat to speed up drying.
For down sleeping bags, add two to three tennis balls to help agitate the fill back to the original loft. The balls break up down clumps to speed drying. For synthetic bags, tennis balls help but aren't necessary.

If that seems like a lot of work, REI suggests a few ways to keep your bag cleaner while you use it, so you can use it more between washes.

Sleep in clean clothes. Over time, body oils, sweat, and dirt can reduce your sleeping bag's insulating power. Change into clean long underwear and socks.

Consider using a sleeping bag liner. Liners can be cotton, silk, wool, or polyester and are fairly lightweight. They keep your sleeping bag clean by acting as a barrier between your skin and the bag.

Protect your bag from the ground. If you plan to sleep out under the stars, put a pad down on the ground first. Some bags feature durable waterproof fabric on the underside, but that needs protection, too, from sharp sticks and conifer pitch.

Treat it gently. Never jump around camp standing inside your sleeping bag. It'll trash the bag's toe box.

Be picky about lending.  Set some rules, show them how the zippers and cords work, and ask them to use a liner.

Be patient with zippers.   Get to know your bag's zipper at home and practice using it, so when it's time to zip up in a dark tent, you won't yank on it and tear the fabric.

Air out your sleeping bag daily. If you have to wait until midday, turn it inside out to dry out any moisture. Don't leave a bag in direct sunlight for very long, as UV light slowly degrades the fabric.